Born into Brothels
| Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by |
Zana Briski Ross Kauffman |
| Produced by | Zana Briski Ross Kauffman |
| Written by | Zana Briski Ross Kauffman |
| Starring | Shanti Das Puja Mukerjee Avijit Halder Suchitra |
| Music by | John McDowell |
| Cinematography | Zana Briski Ross Kauffman |
| Edited by | Ross Kauffman |
| Distributed by | THINKFilm |
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Release date
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17 January 2004 (Sundance) 8 December 2005 |
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | United States India |
| Language | Bengali English |
| Box office | $3,515,061 (USA) |
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids is a 2004 Indian-American documentary film about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, Kolkata's red light district. The widely acclaimed film, written and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, won a string of accolades including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2004.
Briski, a documentary photographer, went to Kolkata to photograph prostitutes. While there, she befriended their children and offered to teach the children photography to reciprocate being allowed to photograph their mothers. The children were given cameras so they could learn photography and possibly improve their lives. Their photographs depicted a life in the red light district through the eyes of children typically overlooked and sworn off to do chores around the house until they were able to contribute more substantially to the family welfare. Much of their work was used in the film, and the filmmakers recorded the classes as well as daily life in the red light district. The children's work was exhibited, and one boy was even sent to a photography conference in Amsterdam. Briski also recorded her efforts to place the children in boarding schools although many of the children did not end up staying very long in the schools they were placed in. Others, such as Avijit and Kochi not only went on to continue their education, but were graded well.
There is debate about the extent to which the documentary has improved the lives of the children featured in it.
The film-makers claim that the lives of children appearing in Born into Brothels have been transformed by money earned through the sale of photos and a book on them. Ross Kauffman, co-director of the documentary, says that the amount earned is $100,000 (about Rs.4.5 million), which will pay for their tuition and for a school in India for children of prostitutes. Briski has started a non-profit organization to continue this kind of work in other countries, named Kids with Cameras. A film is being made on the life story of a high-profile trio of call girl sisters, Shaveta, Khushboo and Himani, born in one of the brothels of Haryana.
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